Explained: The concerns around Rs 80,000 cr Shaktipeeth Expressway in Maharashtra

Indian Express

8 hours ago

The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday (June 24) approved the acquisition of land for the proposed Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway project, which was halted due to farmers' protests in Kolhapur in 2024. The expressway is a six-lane greenfield corridor estimated to cost over Rs 80,000 crore.
The project comes 20 days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated a 76-kilometre stretch of the Samruddhi Mahamarg, marking the completion of the 701-kilometre expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur. The Mahamarg was first envisioned as his flagship infrastructure project during his tenure as Chief Minister in 2016.
While the Shaktipeeth Expressway is touted as a transformative route connecting key religious and economic regions, the project is already facing stiff resistance from farmers along its proposed alignment.
The proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway is an 802-kilometre greenfield, access-controlled, six-lane corridor that will connect central and western Maharashtra to Goa. Named after the revered Shakti Peethas, which are important Hindu pilgrimage sites, the expressway is envisioned as a project to improve connectivity to sacred sites and also boost regional development and economic integration in the state.
Designed primarily to serve the religious tourism corridor, the expressway will link 18 major pilgrimage sites, including prominent Shaktipeeths such as Renuka Devi in Mahur, Tulja Bhavani in Tuljapur, Mahalakshmi in Kolhapur, and Patradevi in Goa. Stretching from Pavnar in Wardha district in eastern Maharashtra to Patradevi in Sindhudurg on the Maharashtra-Goa border, the expressway will pass through 12 districts.
When was the Shaktipeeth Expressway Project envisaged?
The idea for the Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway was first announced in September 2022 by the then-Deputy Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, who described it as a transformative, multilane corridor that would drastically reduce travel time between the two regions.
Fadnavis had then said that the 1,016-kilometre journey from Nagpur to Goa currently takes around 21 hours, and that the proposed expressway would significantly reduce this travel time while improving connectivity and economic integration across the state.
Following the announcement, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) undertook a feasibility study and started land acquisition along the proposed alignment. However, the project quickly encountered opposition from local farmers, many of whom were reluctant to part with their agricultural land.
The expressway became a major electoral issue in 2024, particularly in districts like Kolhapur, where several protests erupted. During the Lok Sabha campaign, Hatkanangle candidate and farmer leader Raju Shetti vocally opposed the land acquisition, warning the state government not to move forward with the project.
Ashok Chavan, the BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Nanded who had switched from the Congress in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, wrote to the Chief Minister highlighting the widespread opposition from farmers in his district. 'Farmers are opposing the project not only in Nanded but in every district,' Chavan said in his letter.
In the aftermath of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the BJP-led NDA suffered losses in 10 out of the 11 districts through which the expressway is planned, the state government decided to pause land acquisition until after the 2024 Assembly elections.
What is the current status of the Shaktipeeth Expressway Project?
Following the BJP's return to power in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave the green light to resume work on the Shaktipeeth Expressway. In February 2025, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) restarted its land acquisition surveys along the proposed 802-km corridor.
On Tuesday, the Maharashtra Cabinet approved a provision of Rs 20,787 crore for the planning and land acquisition phase of the project. Of this, Rs 12,000 crore has been secured from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation.
The project will be executed by MSRDC and constructed using the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) model. Under this model, a single contractor will be responsible for the entire project lifecycle from design and engineering to procurement of materials and final construction.
Why is there opposition to the Shaktipeeth Expressway?
The proposed Shaktipeeth Expressway will traverse 12 districts across Maharashtra: Wardha, Yavatmal, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani, Latur, Beed, Dharashiv, Solapur, Kolhapur, Sangli, and Sindhudurg. To build the 802-km corridor, the state requires 8,615 hectares of land, of which 8,149 hectares are privately owned. The highest land acquisition is expected in Solapur (1,688 ha), Yavatmal (1,421 ha), and Kolhapur (1,258 ha).
However, the project is encountering strong resistance, especially from districts in Western Maharashtra, which account for nearly 40% of the land acquisition.
Unlike previous greenfield initiatives such as the Samruddhi Mahamarg, which primarily passed through arid and less cultivated regions, this expressway cuts through fertile, agriculturally productive zones. Many farmers in these areas, especially those cultivating sugarcane and other cash crops in Western Maharashtra, are reluctant to part with high-yield land, fearing irreversible livelihood loss.
Critics have also raised questions about redundancy, pointing out that the Nagpur-Ratnagiri National Highway is already being expanded to improve connectivity on the same alignment, making a parallel expressway seem excessive.
Environmentalists and local communities have further expressed concern over the ecological disruption the project could cause, particularly in the Western Ghats and Konkan region, which are rich in biodiversity and prone to ecological sensitivity.
Despite these objections, the state government remains committed to the project. In a speech to the state assembly in March 2025, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis defended the expressway. 'The Samruddhi Expressway transformed the economy, and the Shaktipeeth Expressway will similarly change lives across the 12 districts it touches by enhancing connectivity to ports, airports, and the rest of the state.'
What concerns has the State's finance department raised?
While the total project cost exceeds Rs 80,000 crore, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday cleared a Rs 20,787 crore loan guarantee for land acquisition for the 802 km Nagpur-Goa Shaktipeeth Expressway.
While concerns remain about how the remaining funds for the project will be raised, the Maharashtra Finance Department has already flagged serious financial risks. The department warned that the off-budget loan guarantee would significantly burden the state's finances, citing rising debt, projected at Rs 9.32 lakh crore by March 2026, and increasing interest payments, estimated at Rs 1.54 lakh crore in FY26.
It also questioned the 8.85% interest rate for the proposed loan, especially when market bonds were recently raised at 6.75%. The department warned this could worsen the state's fiscal deficit, which is projected to rise to 4.08%, and push the debt-to-GSDP ratio to 25%, breaching FRBM norms.
It further advised reprioritising capital projects and warned that such high capital expenditure could force cuts in essential revenue expenditure and committed spending.